查看文章

Cadmium (Cd²⁺) is a widespread heavy metal pollutant in the environment with a long biological half-life, originating mainly from industrial processes and phosphate fertilizers. It is easily taken up by plants, resulting in toxicity symptoms, such as chlorosis, wilting, growth reduction, and cell death. This cellular toxicity might result from interactions with vital metabolic pathways, carboxyl or thiol groups of proteins and reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst in plants. Plant exposure even to low concentrations of Cd may lead to cell death but the mechanism of its toxicity is still debatable. Therefore, exploring various ways to improve crop productivity and/or alleviate Cd stress effects is one of the major areas of concern. Nitric oxide (NO) is a hydrophobic gaseous molecule involved in various physiological processes such as germination, root growth, stomatal closure, control of the flowering timing etc. NO also functions as …